April 6 - COVID-19 Update

As you are all aware, the COVID-19 pandemic has deeply impacted the way we live, work, do business and provide care and services.

At Bedford, our clients and staff are our highest priority and we have taken a number of precautions and implemented government recommended protocols to ensure everyone’s safety and well-being and minimise the risk of infection. These include:

Increasing hygiene;

Increasing cleaning and sanitation measures:

Introducing social distancing protocols; and

Establishing work from home opportunities.

We are not immune to the challenges affecting so many businesses and disability service providers in Australia and we have seen a significant decline in client numbers and customer orders.

However, we have fantastic teams, a diverse range of products and services and a dedicated COVID-19 taskforce who have created a Response Plan and a Hybrid Operating Model to keep the lights on and ensure Bedford will come out as strong as it can after this health crisis.

This Response Plan involves some interim measures that include temporary closures of our hospitality, manufacturing and lotteries departments or sites as part of this temporary closure. The decision to close these employment sites has not been made lightly and takes into consideration a number of factors including the site’s potential risk to COVID-19, WHS and Bedford’s financial position.

The good news is that all staff and employees will be offered the opportunity to temporarily transfer to other departments and/or sites such as packaging, horticulture and most of our regional enterprises.

We are also receiving support from the federal government which has advised us that Bedford and other disability service providers are essential services. We are working with the sector to find innovative ways to keep operating and keep providing meaningful work, life skills, social engagement and capacity-building opportunities for our 1300 clients- particularly those clients who may not be able to physically attend Bedford as usual.

If you have any enquiries, please feel free to reach out to us on our COVID-19 hotline: 0429 135 448 or 0429 124 648 (Mon to Fri 8:30am – 5.00pm) or email: covidhelp@bedfordgroup.com.au.

Bedford may need to adapt its operating model further during this time of uncertainty but will work closely with all staff, employees and clients to ensure we minimise direct impacts as much as we can.

From all of us here at Bedford, thank you for your patience and understanding during this time.